New Rules to Help Govern Legalization of Marijuana

By
Lida Alikhani.
Published Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Legalizing Marijuana

After considering public input at hearings across the state, the Washington State Liquor Control Board approves the filing of proposed supplemental rules that could help govern the legalization of marijuana.

The board allocated a maximum of 334 marijuana retail outlets statewide, limiting each county to a certain number of stores based on population.

Benton County Total: 10

-Kennewick: 4

-Richland: 4

-West Richland: 1

-At Large: 2

Franklin County Total: 5

-Pasco: 4

-At Large: 1

Yakima County Total: 14

-Yakima: 5

-Grandview: 1

-Selah: 1

-Sunnyside: 1

-At Large: 6

Walla Walla County Total: 4

-Walla Walla: 2

-At Large: 2

The city of Richland will vote on a possible moratorium in October.

Last night, the Pasco City Council approved their 6 month moratorium on producing, processing and selling recreational marijuana.

Pasco City Director Rick White said the moratorium goes into effect today and it will have an impact on prospective marijuana retail store owners.

"Assuming the moratorium is still in place in November, it will prevent the city from accepting applications until it either expires or we've developed rules and regulations for issuing licenses," said White.

Statewide, the Liquor Control Board will begin accepting applications for licenses on November 18th and that window will close on December 18th.

Last week, the federal government said it would not block state laws legalizing marijuana in Washington and Colorado.

Now, a collection of drug abuse prevention groups is asking the Justice Department how that decision will affect public health.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Some of those groups said the Justice Department's position is a mistake.